Lots of bad press here for Hangar 18, but I was pleasantly surprised with its taught yet somewhat far-fetched script, believable acting(not grandiose by any standards), and fast, compelling pace. Sure, this is a lot of hokey sci-fi stuff about the government hiding an alien ship, discrediting astronauts to save one man's election, and eventually...well, can't say too much more without letting the proverbial cat out of the bag. I guess it is out of the realm of possibility that OUR government would do any of those terrible things? For a feature film, its budget is rather...OK, very small.
The film definitely has the look and feel of one of those good 70s television movies on a Friday or Saturday night. Gary Collins and James Hampton play the astronauts out to prove they have been set up after witnessing a spaceship whilst sending a satellite into orbit. Both actors are competent if nothing else in their roles. Throw in Robert Vaughn, William Schallert, Joseph Campanella and some other luminaries from the small screen. All the actors do competent jobs. The big acting bonus is Darren McGavin as the man in charge of learning about the alien spacecraft. McGavin plays the role with great credibility. Anyone else notice his Kolchak swagger and sneakers throughout the film? Hangar 18 more than anything for me made me think about certain things. The story has just enough juice to be almost profound at times. Now, I know it has cheesy effects...the aliens look like slimmed-down versions of Uncle Fester, but there are a lot of big budget sci-fi films that never generate any thought. Did you see The Matrix III?
The film definitely has the look and feel of one of those good 70s television movies on a Friday or Saturday night. Gary Collins and James Hampton play the astronauts out to prove they have been set up after witnessing a spaceship whilst sending a satellite into orbit. Both actors are competent if nothing else in their roles. Throw in Robert Vaughn, William Schallert, Joseph Campanella and some other luminaries from the small screen. All the actors do competent jobs. The big acting bonus is Darren McGavin as the man in charge of learning about the alien spacecraft. McGavin plays the role with great credibility. Anyone else notice his Kolchak swagger and sneakers throughout the film? Hangar 18 more than anything for me made me think about certain things. The story has just enough juice to be almost profound at times. Now, I know it has cheesy effects...the aliens look like slimmed-down versions of Uncle Fester, but there are a lot of big budget sci-fi films that never generate any thought. Did you see The Matrix III?